Which to use
“heikle” and “heile” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,080
- “heikle” frequency rank
- #17,933
- “heile” frequency rank
- 50013
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heikle | heile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs heikel | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs heil |
Where the eye mixes heikle and heile
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. heikle runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against heile's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses heikle with heile
A purely visual mix-up. heikle ([ˈhaɪ̯klə]) and heile ([ˈhaɪ̯lə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50013, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
heikle is recorded at frequency rank #32,080, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯klə]. heile is at rank #17,933, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯lə].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 50013, this pair ranks #1,189,871 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of heikle vs heile
Shared letters: ehil. Private to "heikle": k. Private to "heile": -.
"heikle" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "heile" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "heikle" for "heile" ever safe?
Which is more common, "heikle" or "heile"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "heikle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "heile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,189,871 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "heikle" and "heile" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heckler vs heikle". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,189,871 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.